MIAMI — It’s been a Jekyll-and-Hyde season for N.C. State. After the Wolfpack’s 1-5 start, it looked as though the Pack was destined for last place.
State came out of the bye week on fire, reeling off three straight wins — the team’s longest winning streak since it won its last three games in 2005. The Pack’s win Saturday, a 19-16 victory over Miami in the Orange Bowl, required a gritty comeback and overtime heroics.
With the monumental road win, State finds itself just one game under .500 and two wins from bowl eligibility.
Graduate kicker Stephen Hauschka hit a career-high four field goals, including the game winner in overtime. Hauschka came off the field on the shoulders of his teammates and entered the locker room with his name being chanted.
“It was definitely pretty exciting, and I’ll never forget it,” Hauschka said.
It was a special win all around. I was standing under the right goal post as the winning kick sailed through. As I looked out and saw State’s players rushing to the middle of the field and then to the contingent of Pack fans in attendance, I saw a team that believes it can win any game.
“[The players] hang in there, and they don’t give up,” coach Tom O’Brien said.
The confidence the team built with wins over East Carolina and Virginia is only growing now.
Redshirt freshman cornerback DeAndre Morgan said he knew the Miami offense was going to attack him. At the end of regulation, Miami quarterback Kirby Freeman threw Morgan’s way twice. Both times, Morgan made sure receiver Sam Shields did not catch the ball.
“My coach told me all week long they’re going to come at me,” Morgan said. “It was only a matter of time. I had to make sure I was ready.”
With three games left on the schedule, State is 4-5 (2-3 ACC). This team is playing its best football of the season.
State surrendered just two big plays to Miami: a 54-yard run that set up a field goal and an 84-yard touchdown pass that put Miami up 10-0. Other than that, State’s defense played strong most of the game, intercepting three passes from Freeman. The defense stopped Miami when it counted, holding the Hurricanes to one touchdown despite 314 rushing yards.
Early in the season, it looked like State would get down on itself when other teams built leads. The State team from the first half of the season would have collapsed when Miami hit the long touchdown to go up 10-0 and lost by 20.
The new Wolfpack fights back as evidenced by the nine-play, 66-yard touchdown drive immediately following Miami’s touchdown to cut the lead to 10-7.
Next up for the Pack is the game State fans care about most: North Carolina.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Willie Young said the team knows it hasn’t done anything special this season.
“We just need to stay focused,” he said. “We haven’t done anything yet. The composure is there. [Now] it’s back to work for next week against Carolina.”
The new Wolfpack is fun to watch because they always believe they’re in the game. Down 10 on the road in the Orange Bowl? No big deal, State outscored Miami 12-6 after halftime.
What about the six-game new season? Three games down, three wins in the bag. It’s going to be a wild finish.
